Final Thoughts on Convergence

Well amazingly enough the semester is already coming to an end. We have been asked to sum up all of the information that we have been discussing throughout the length of the class. This is actually extremely difficult to do because we have covered a lot of topics. One can see the convergence of media everywhere you look. People can now access the Internet from their phones, in almost any location. This offers a variety of benefits. This allows businesswomen and men to access their work documents and e-mails while they are on a plane, or in their car, or even at home. Anyone with this technology can stay on top of their social networking sites, and get the latest updates from their family and friends. We can also now hook up computers to our televisions, or read books electronically, or upload photos and videos that can be shared with family and friends. Technology has come extremely far, and it only continues to change. New things are developed everyday, and it is up to us to keep up with all the changes.

The technology of Skype was a much discussed topic in our class. For anyone who doesn't know already, Skype is a videochat service that allows users to view the person that they are speaking with from any location. Skype opens up a whole new world of possibilities. The best thing about it is the fact that it's free for anyone to use. Long distance phone calls can be very expensive, and you don't get to see the other person. Skype offers this without any cost. One example we discussed in class about how this could be used was the story of a soldier watching his baby being born through the use of Skype. This allowed him to be there, without actually being there. This is just one example of how beneficial this service is. It is also very helpful for companies to use for such things as business meetings. This saves on travel costs and time.

Another topic that was heavily discussed was the idea of social capital, also known as whuffie. This concept is about building a reputation of sorts through the use of social media. It is about helping others to develop trust in you and want to believe the things you say. This is a very helpful concept for businesses to become familiar with. Nowadays it is vital to have a strong presence on the Internet. Companies can promote upcoming sales and events, and really get people talking about a product or service. Some bloggers are even being paid to mention products in their posts. This is all about getting customers to do your advertising for you essentially. If you can get someone to say that they "like" your product or business on Facebook, this is basically like an advertisement to all of their family and friends who will see that they "like" this. This can of course lead to new customers. This is especially becoming more important when regular ads are becoming almost obsolete. I can't remember the last time I actually watched a commercial break. I either watch my shows online, or record them with my DVR and fast-forward through the commercials. Advertisers have to come up with new ways to reach their audiences, and doing so online is becoming the top way to do this.

One of the topics discussed in class was the way all this technology is affecting the world of journalism. I hadn't really thought much about it before this class. However, there are definitely some major changes going on. Newspapers are suffering. Hardly anyone buys a newspaper anymore, and with good reason. Most newspapers have an edition online that can be accessed for free, and it won't get ink all over your fingers! Also, this transition to online news has really changed the whole relationship between journalists and readers. It used to be a one-way interaction with journalists just spreading the news. Now it has become a two-way interaction where readers are able to reply to an article and leave their thoughts and opinions. This has really changed the world of news, and I am interested to see what changes will occur in the future.

There is just no way I could hit on everything that we talked about without creating a short novel! This means of course that I have learned a lot over the course of the semester. I really enjoyed the whole process that we went through to get to this point. Typically in other classes you read the book, listen to the teacher lecture, and take tests. This class was really more about hands on learning, and also peer-to-peer learning. Some of the concepts I read about were a little confusing, but after reading about it in my classmates blogs, it usually cleared things up for me. It was also just interesting to get different viewpoints on topics and look at things in a way I wouldn't have on my own. I also feel that I am a lot more prepared for my career. If my boss ever asked me to promote a product or event, I feel that the skills we have learned in 404 would really help me to do this successfully. Overall I enjoyed the class, and I enjoyed blogging. My posts may not be as professional or educational in the future, but I could definitely see continuing the blogging process.

Spreading the Word

This week we continued reading from the "Whuffie Factor". The section we read this week talked a lot about building your whuffie, and the benefits of doing so. Having a strong presence online, and creating a lot of social capital, is not just to be popular. There are a lot of real world benefits, especially for those in the advertising industry.

The reading talked about the fact that sometimes a blog from a well-followed person, can be just as effective as an expensive advertisement. The author talked about how she had a large following on a variety of social networks, all of which are connected. Having such a large following enables you to get out your message to a wide variety of people. It is also a smart option because it is free. Another great thing about this is the fact that the message you send will not only go out to all your followers, but all of those that your follower's extend the message to. This sounds confusing, but basically it means that someone who is following a blog (Twitter account, Facebook account, etc.) that sees something interesting, will most likely pass it along to their friends and family. In that way, there is no telling how many people one message will reach.

Another great benefit is the fact that the communication is a two way exchange. Readers are able to post their comments and give feedback. This is great for advertisers because they can get actual opinions from consumers on why they like a product or what they think should be changed about a product. It also helps to build relationships between companies and consumers because it allows them to have a lot more customer service capabilities. Before this whole process started, many people would be dissatisfied with a product, vent to a friend about it and move on. Now they go onto a social networking site and put a comment about their bad experience. The company that makes the product then has the ability to contact that person, offer apologies, and perhaps give them some sort of promotional offer. The great thing about this is not only are you maintaining relationships with customers, but you are building trust from potential customers who read that interaction.

Another way that this two way interaction is beneficial can be seen in the example from the reading. The author talked about the fact that there was a time that she was struggling to decide what type of digital camera to buy. She had it narrowed down to two choices and decided to turn to her followers for help. From doing this, she got hundreds of responses from people offering their opinions and advice. She was able to choose a product that she is really happy with. This whole concept is pretty cool. The idea that you potentially can ask thousands of people for help with a problem, even if its as simple as which product is better. This concept gives me the feeling that the world is not so big, and we are all connected in some way. We are no longer limited to the people we see in our day to day encounters.

So far I have talked about a lot of benefits of having a large network of followers. However there is a major negative to this concept that is becoming more and more prevalent in the news. This is the idea of bullying. This is not a new idea. Kids have always been bullied. I'm sure most of us were at one time in our lives. However, this concept has risen to a whole new level with the advancement of technology. Kids are now able to bully their peers online, out of school. They can wage an all out attack on someone without ever having to physically speak to them. The ability to say things online, without having to do it face to face, gives people a lot more confidence. They will typically say things that they would not say in person. This means that kids will be even more cruel online. There have been many recent hospitalizations, and suicides because of this growing trend. I don't know what the solution to this problem is, I just thought that it was a very important topic worth mentioning. What are your thoughts on online bullying? Do you have any ideas for possible solutions of how to reduce this problem?

Whuffie: Not just what a dog says

This week we were assigned readings from a book called, "How To Be A Social Capitalist". If you read my previous blogs, then perhaps you remember the discussion of social capitalism. I tried to simplify the idea as much as possible by saying that it is having a sense of pride and connection with one's community, and doing things for others within that community.

I was starting to feel that I had a pretty good grasp on the subject due to the fact that I had done some reading in class and outside reading for a presentation on the topic. However, I was surprised to learn that this concept I was learning about was also known by a much different term: Whuffie. I think it's best to take the definition given in the book:
"Whuffie is the residual outcome-the currency-of your reputation. You lose or gain it based on positive or negative actions, your contributions to the community, and what people think of you"
It seems to be very similar to the definition of social capital. So why the different, and strange,name? From my understanding, social capitalism is a general term and whuffie is a more specific term dealing with online social capital. Even more specifically, it has to deal with building social capital through social networking tools.

I'm sure that most of you have noticed that social networking sites are not just for everyday users to discuss what they ate that day, and share pictures of their friends drinking. In fact, social networking sites have a variety of uses, one of which is to promote businesses. If you do a little searching, you can usually find most any large company has a Facebook page that you can check out. Many such pages have advertisements for the brand, and deals and promotions. Some have lists of upcoming events that relate to the brand, and perhaps even some sort of entertainment such as a game. All of these pages allow users to add the page to their list of "likes". This is good for the company because it not only advertises to users friends that they are a part of this group and entices others to join, but it also helps the company to gain trust from users because it has such a large following. These days having an online presence is vital for a company's success. So how does a company gain popularity online? How do they get people to add them to their list of "likes"?

Answering this question is what our reading was all about this week. The author made the humorous comment that there are really only three ways to build a business and make money online: "porn, luck, and whuffie". A company needs to establish themselves online, and create a following. One of the most important things is having good connections, in other words, networking. If a company can show that they are somehow connected to another well-liked, highly-respected company, they will most likely gain respect through doing so.

This idea is not only for businesses. Actually, anyone who is online and a member of some sort of social networking site, has whuffie. How much time you spend building your whuffie is up to you. One wonders how far this idea will go. Perhaps one day employers will be looking at a person's whuffie when considering them for a job. The book gave a very interesting example taken from a science fiction novel, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom". The author of the science fiction novel envisioned a world in which whuffie is the only currency used. You would pay for everything you need with your whuffie. This would not be in some sort of paper or card form. Instead, your whuffie is a part of you at all times and anyone can access your internal computer to figure out how wealthy or poor you are. This is an extremely interesting concept to try and wrap your mind around. The weirdest part is that it doesn't sound altogether impossible.

The reading for this week was very informative, and we are continuing reading on the same topic next week. Please let me know your thoughts on the subject, and look for more information in my next blog.

The Benefits and Consequences of How Far We've Come

This week we wrapped up the reading in Grant's book. The last few chapters brought up some very interesting points. One of the chapters was about the Internet itself. In this chapter, Grant brought up a term that I was actually unaware of. The term is "cyber-squatting". The whole idea behind this concept is that people will go out and take control over a domain name that they know someone else will want, and then hold out for as much money as they can get. This is much easier to understand with an example. The book used the example of www.whitehouse.com. If you go to this site you will find that it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual Whitehouse. It seems that the owner of this site is hoping that the Government will want to take control of that domain name, and will therefore have to buy them out to do so. This type of squatting also happens a lot with brand names and celebrities. The Government is now trying to regulate this and has created such things as the Anti-Cyber-Squatting Consumer Protection Act. This is aimed at allowing companies or individuals with a legitimate claim to a name or brand to take control of the domain name. This was an interesting concept to read about. I was unaware that all this was happening. It seems that people will think of anything to make some money!

In chapter 22 Grant talked about the term telepresence. Grant defined this term as, "a series of technologies that allow for face-to-face meetings between people who are separated geographically". This has become a huge benefit to the business world. Companies are now able to hold meetings with clients and other companies without having to travel to do so. This cuts down on cost of travel and fuel usage. This technology also allows users to pick up on nonverbal cues that they wouldn't be able to with the use of a regular telephone. This idea is also used for personal communication among everyday internet users. I talked in an earlier blog about the concept of Skype and all it's capabilities. People are using this technology to have more intimate conversations with loved-ones who are far away. My family is currently in the process of trying to explain Skype to both sets of Grandparents because my sister just had a baby three months ago. This technology would allow my niece to see my Grandparents and hear their voices at the same time and become familiar with them even though they are across the country. Of course to them it sounds very complicated, but it really is very user-friendly and doesn't require someone with a lot of tech-savvy to operate the program. This whole concept opens the world to so many new capabilities. For instance, the military is using telepresence in the form of telerobotics. They use this to diffuse bombs, and control vehicles. They are even discussing the idea of using this technology to replace aircraft pilots or even astronauts who put themselves in danger in order to do their jobs.
The book ended with some conclusions from Grant and a brief look towards the future. After reading this book, it has made me realize and appreciate just how many advances we have made in the area of technology. As silly as it may sound, I always looked at the Jetsons as the premium example of just how far technology can take us! And I used to think that I would never see anything like that in my lifetime. However, we are well on our way. We have the telephone that allows us to see the other person that we are speaking to, although it doesn't fly up to us on command(maybe someday!). We are continually advancing in the field of robotics, and we already have such things as the robotic vacuum and even a robotic lawn-mower. We still have a while before we reach the standards of Rosie the robot maid, but again, the beginnings are there. I've even seen advertisements recently about the advances being made in the concept of gesture recognition. The commercial used the examples of turning on lights, pushing down the toaster, and turning on music all with the simple wave of a hand. But of course the best concept from the Jetsons is the idea of the flying car. For years now we have heard rumors and whispers about exactly where we stand in the creation of such technology. I recently saw a video of a strange looking vehicle resembling a car that sort of hovered above the ground. Along the same lines, I have heard rumors of jet-packs of sorts that are being developed primarily for law enforcement. This would allow them to respond to emergencies faster and patrol larger areas with greater ease and less time spent. In other words, we are on our way with this concept as well. It is amazing the advances that have been made since I was born, and there is no telling what is to come next. I am grateful to all those brilliant minds out there who are creating these unbelievable things, and I believe the possibilities for the future are endless.

Southwest Flies High in Area of Media Convergence

The company we chose to analyze for our class project was Southwest Airlines. Southwest has been in business since 1971. Since then they have continued to grow and now have more than 3,200 flights a day and nearly 35,000 employees. In June 2010, the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranked Southwest Airlines number one among all airlines for the 17^th year in a row. The company is also very involved with new technology and utilizes a variety of social media tactics including micro blogging on Twitter, blogging, YouTube, an iPhone app and a FaceBook page. A surprising fact we came across was that Southwest was the first airline to establish a home page on the Internet and as of the first half of 2010, online bookings have reached 81 percent. Also, for the first half of 2010, approximately 78 percent of Southwest Customers were checking in online or at a kiosk. It is obvious that customers are really utilizing the online resources that Southwest has made available to them.

Among these resources is the company’s micro blog on Twitter. It has over one million followers. Customers can use Twitter to post complaints, thoughts, or suggestions, and Southwest will then tweet back to the customer. The company also uses Twitter for internship recruitment, and contests or discounts. Additionally they send out travel advisories such as cancellations, delays, or weather issues.

Southwest has a very successful blog called Nuts About Southwest. In fact, in October of 2009, Nuts About Southwest was awarded “Best Blog” for the third year in a row at the PR News Platinum Awards. The blog itself has current events related to Southwest as a company and also information about employees. They have different polls to get customer feedback, as well as videos, podcasts, and guest posts from customers. These guest posts are reviewed by Southwest and they will do their best to resolve any issue or answer any questions. The blog itself acts as a sort of hub that ties in all of Southwest’s social media efforts. The bottom of the page has links to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Southwest also has its own YouTube channel. There are a variety of entertaining videos including singing or rapping flight attendants, and a humorous game they call toilet paper racing which must be seen to be understood. Besides this they have informative videos that deal with customer relations, informing customers about policies and procedures, and videos about the ways in which the company is advertising throughout their airports.

Southwest’s Flickr page is basically a discussion forum for suggestions, thoughts, and complaints, but also has photo groups where anyone can add photos. Southwest then takes these photos and will use them in their other social media platforms. It seems that this page is a popular site for plane enthusiasts and has over a thousand members.

Southwest has a great example of media convergence with their iPhone and Desktop application called DING!. This application allows users to have insider deals and information about sales and flights that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. The application conveniently enables customers to book a flight, check on flight status, book car reservations, and even check in for a flight all from a customer’s phone. This obviously provides a lot of benefits for people who travel frequently.

On top of all of this Southwest has a Facebook page with almost one million friends. The page has contests and sweepstakes to win free travel and other prizes such as hotel stays, restaurant gift cards, and even cars. The company uses Facebook to promote their bags fly free campaign, which really sets them apart from other airlines that have fairly steep rates.

Overall we think that Southwest is using this variety of social media platforms very effectively. They allow customers to communicate with each other in various ways which helps to increase customer loyalty, and build a sort of culture. It’s obvious that Southwest strives to be fun and family-oriented and uses exciting ways to engage customers and attract interest. We had a hard time trying to think of any suggestions of how the company could improve with their use of social media. The one thing we noticed was that their Facebook page states that they will not address customer concerns on that page. It directs them to the company’s blog or to an 800 number. It seems like a real missed opportunity there. Some of their customers may only use Facebook, not the other media platforms, and would prefer to post questions and concerns there. Also, it was difficult to find any criticisms or negative publicity about the company anywhere. This of course is good if there isn’t anything for customers to complain about. Our concern was that Southwest could possibly be monitoring their sites and removing any negative comments. Otherwise Southwest seems to be doing very well with adapting to changing technology, and their numerous awards and millions of satisfied customers seem to speak to that fact as well.

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Broadening our Horizons

For the past two weeks we listened to presentations given by our classmates. I was surprised that everyone chose a different topic. That just shows how much is involved in the seemingly simple phrase: "Media Convergence". All of the presentations were very insightful and taught me something that I didn't already know.

One of the main presentations that sticks out in my mind was the presentation done on Skype. To be dead honest I have never used Skype, never seen it used, never heard about any of my friends or family using it. I had no idea it was such a widely used technology, and I certainly didn't know that it was free. It was also interesting to learn about all the possible consequences of using Skype. For instance, potentially someone could hack into the system and listen to your conversations, or read all of your instant messages which are automatically stored unless you change the settings. Another thing that I learned was that you can have multiple users on at the same time, I believe it was up to 25! I was under the impression that it was just for two people to talk one-to-one. I can see how this technology would be very beneficial for companies to use for conference calls. Another main benefit that she talked about was the fact that Skype has the ability to connect people who are far away from each other. The example she used in her presentation was a soldier overseas watching his baby be born through the use of Skype. It's so amazing that he was able to do that, and technology made it all possible.

Another one of the presentations that really stuck out to me was the presentation about terrorists using the Internet, entitled "Terror on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube". This was a very interesting topic, and also a frightening one. This presentation discussed the fact that terrorists are using social networking sites to send information to each other about planned attacks and even information about how to build bombs. Terrorists are also using this technology to recruit new members, and to spread the word about their cause in hopes to gain sympathizers. This class really focuses on all the ways that technology is improving our lives and the many positive uses for it. It was valuable for us to hear about the fact that not all uses of technology are positive. As users of technology we must be responsible, and also aware of what we are encountering. If we see something on the Internet that shouldn't be there (i.e. instructions on how to build a bomb) we need to report it. Hopefully the efforts of our government will continue to pay off, and they are keeping a watchful eye on the Internet and these terrorists.

Overall I learned a lot from the presentations given in class, most of which I probably wouldn't have learned about otherwise. Technology is taking over and there are many consequences because of this, both negative and positive. Our class talked about a wide variety of these consequences, however, there are still a huge amount of topics out there that we didn't discuss. It really just showed me how much I have left to learn! A lot of the information was very helpful and applicable in my everyday life, so I'm glad that we did this project.

Technology and Social Capital

After reading Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody, I was interested in reading more about social capital and how technology may be affecting it. For those of you who do not know a lot about the idea of social capital, I put a great link in a recent blog to a site that explains the concept well. I found a great article all about this topic. The article is called, “Does the Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital? Social Networks, Participation, and Community Commitment”, written by Barry Wellman in 2001. Wellman begins with a discussion of previous work done by Robert Putnam. “Putnam has documented a long-term decline since the 1960’s in American civic involvement” (Wellman, Pg.1). This decline is associated with a decrease in political involvement, as well as a decrease in community involvement, and a decrease in interpersonal communication which could lead to psychological issues. Putnam classified two forms of social capital:

a) Network Capital: Relations with friends, neighbors, relatives, and workmates that significantly provide companionship, emotional aid, goods and services, information, and a sense of belonging (Wellman, Pg.2).

b) Participatory Capital: Involvement in politics and voluntary organizations that afford opportunities for people to bond, create joint accomplishments, and aggregate and articulate their demands and desires (Wellman, Pg. 2).

Wellman adds a third type that he calls:

c) Community Commitment: Social capital consists of more than going through the motions of interpersonal interaction and organizational involvement. When people have a strong attitude toward community -have a motivated, responsible sense of belonging- they will mobilize their social capital more willingly and effectively (Wellman, Pg.2).

The question at hand: What is causing this decline in these types of social capital? Many are quick to blame the Internet and ever-increasing technology. It seems reasonable to assume that if people are participating less in their offline communities, it is because they are involved in online communities. It seems that technology is taking over. People are spending a significant amount of time e-mailing, blogging, on social networking sites, and texting. Many are saying that the Internet is having the same impact as the television, which led to a decline in both community involvement, and even involvement inside the home. All of these claims seem reasonable; however there has not been any definitive evidence that the Internet is the cause of this decline in social capital.

Wellman’s article discussed a study that strived to find a relationship between social capital and technology by looking at three views on the topic. The first view the study examined is that the Internet increases social capital. The idea behind this argument is that the involvement in online communities acts as a starting ground for new relationships. These online “meeting places” draw members in on the basis of common interests. The idea is that the relationship will develop and continue into the offline world. This view also argues that technology has made it easier and cheaper to communicate with family and relatives far away, thus increasing interaction and social capital.

The second view the study looked it is that the Internet decreases social capital. This view has six arguments:

1. “The Internet may be diverting people from “true” community because online interactions are inherently inferior to face-to-face and even phone interactions” (Wellman, Pg. 5).

2. “The Internet may compete for time with other activities…and can draw people’s attention away from their immediate physical environments while they are online” (Wellman, Pg.6).

3. “The Internet may be a stressor that depresses and alienates people from interaction” (Wellman, Pg.6).

4. “Not all uses of the Internet are social; much activity involves engaging in solitary recreations” (Wellman, Pg. 7).

5. “Computerization and the Internet can blur the home-work boundary, allowing people to bring work home” (Wellman, Pg. 7).

6. “….the Internet keeps people indoors, staring at their screens and neglecting local interaction at home and in the neighborhood” (Wellman, Pg. 8).

The third view argues that the Internet supplements social capital. “It presents the Internet as best understood in the context of a person’s overall life. It is integrated into rhythms of daily life, with life online viewed as an extension of offline activities” (Wellman, Pg.8). Basically this view argues that the level of Internet use and the degree of social capital are unrelated.

After defining these views, the article went on to discuss a survey conducted in the year 2000. The survey involved 39,211 North American adult participants. The survey contained ten items where participants reported different aspects of their Internet use. The study revealed some interesting findings. The first is that Internet use supplements network capital by extending face-to-face and telephone contact. The Internet is particularly useful for keeping contact with friends and family who live long distances away. (Wellman, Pg. 21)

The second finding is that Internet use actually increases participatory capital. “The more people are on the Internet, and the more they are involved in online organizational and political activity, the more they are involved in offline organizational and political activity” (Wellman, pg 22).

The third finding is that Internet use is associated with decreased commitment to community. “The security and social control of encompassing communities have given way to the opportunity and vulnerability of networked individualism” (Wellman, Pg. 22).

Overall it seems that the Internet is both positive and negative. One must take into consideration the facts of this article and examine their individual habits. Is time online worth sacrificing the time you could be spending offline with family and friends? Is it possible that eventually community commitment as defined by Wellman will be non-existent? What affects may this have on society?

Here is a PowerPoint to go along with my blog:

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Also, here is the article I used:

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Reference:

Wellman, B., A. Q. Haase, J. Witte, and K. Hampton. "Does the Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital?: Social Networks, Participation, and Community Commitment." American Behavioral Scientist 45.3 (2001): 436-55. Print.